YEEEEESSSSSS..... Exactly what I needed to hear. And something I may be able to address in a post-mortem assessment of the trip. I will say that there was a lot of compression of time, as access to a computer was very limited, at best. Thank you all so much for the critiques.
All the best! Hi John!
I am reading almost everything you write lately and I really enjoy sharing your experiences in Romania.
People are busy but you really manage to to take us on your trip and we are very thankful to you for the fact that you are so kind to let us know.
We also apreciate your work with the books and your passionate goal in linking two beautiful cultures and societies..Romanian and American.
I hope you will continue to do so and you will acomplish even more then you aimed.
I am reading your post from time to time in the Chicagoromania yahoo group also
God Bless!
Comments I'd rather not rate your blog by numbers, but I will leave a few comments. Bear in mind that I'm an English teacher over here in Europe. Also, this is my opinion, that's all.
I would have liked more description of people, places, etc. A bit of local color always spices things up. What did the markets look like, smell like, sound like? What did you buy? Gifts? What were they? Why did they catch your eye?
I would like to read more description of local food. What is ciorba, for example? I only know that it's soup because the word is similar to Turkish. What did it taste like?
You and friends went to a club that "suited your tastes." What does that mean? Loud? Quiet? Dancing? Awash with hot nubile women?
I think you get the idea. You seem to want to compress the whole day into two paragraphs, where two paragraphs about the most interesting f minutes would be more satisfying to read and to write.
You chronicle your movements, but don't seem to observe as you go.
Please check my blog at http://bearsmentioning.wordpress.com.
Please feel free to leave a comment there if you like.
Thanks for taking me along to Romania.
Steve
A 10 for what you're doing Dear John,
It’s obvious you’re not a writer or a journalist.
When reading your blog I was interested about your perception on a foreign contry, Romania, my native country.
I can recommend one thing: when writing about a travel day don’t waste your time on describing routine activities but the most interesting/challenging event of that particular day.
This way you will capture everybody’s attention.
I will give you a 9 for the blog and a 10 for what you’re doing for the Romanian kids and Rom/Am teachers.
Good luck and see you next year.
Not boring at all John, I enjoyed reading about your recent Romanian adventure, and I must confess that I was looking forward to each new episode. None of them seemed boring to me, even if they probably felt boring to you -- after all, you lived them, I just read about them.
My grade for you is 10.
Wonderful! These are the side trips that I miss! I never really knew where we were going, who was going, how long we would be gone or what we were going to be doing. Even though I was usually the only non-Romanian, I learned that even they did not know or even have a detailed plan. Go with the flow and expect the unexpected. That became my motto then and even now I have adapted to not always being the person in charge and not always being the one making the plans. It sure is a relaxing way of life!
yeah, I know Hey, hey, lighten up. The agency told me (and I have seen... and I had always read) that the technique was simply to go to the airport and pay-up the fee. Nobody said that Lufthansa closed their offices here and their partner company claimed to be on a different ticketing system. And having a travel agent's e-mail isn't much good if they don't read them and respond in a timely fashion. Even when I was talking they weren't helpful right off. Indeed, I should have checked this out when I first got back to town, but the results would have been the same, just resolved a little sooner.
lesson to learn :) all this "adventure" should be a lesson to learn, John, in some areas:
- to make all the preparations for your return long before the day you want to go and not get all stressed out without reason :)
- get all the return changing details from your american travel agent, get his contacts (email is free :)
- not to hurry and be so distracted that much when you prepare a vacation, but be more careful on details
sorry to hear abt those "friends" in Bucharest that were so not serious and keep their word... they do not deserve to talk to them again if they are not reliable whatsoever :)
Sounded like a great trip! I have enjoyed reading all about it. Hope you made it back to to the states, but if not, yes, take some side trips, enjoy it while you're there.
Alternative Hey John,
If all else fails, there's are trains several times daily from Bucuresti to Vienna, where damn near everyone has an office.
In the mean time, you might consider setting up an account with Couchsurfing dot com. They seem to be quite active in Romania.
Steve
more you saw and did not mention :) - you said here that you've seen many elder couples holding hands and you enjoyed it :)
- there are even much more positive stuff you mentioned when we talked. Waiting you to mention them too :P
Barbecues I miss the smoke from those corn cob fires! I miss the mici and carnati! I also relate to Granny's Garden as I would help gather the greens from my neighbor's garden to feed her chickens. She would plant lettuce just so it could go to seed so she would have more greens for them. Sometimes I would pick some for a salad for myself! We also gathered the weeds from the roadside to supplement their food. How nice we did not have to worry about pesticides.
Nicely written Hi John,
This is the most descriptive of your posts that I've read. Really get a feel for your experience here.
I don't know about your other readers, but I often long for more of a description of your surroundings and the folks you meet.
Keep it up!
Steve
Tecuci Hi! Too bad you didn't get to see the beautiful park in Tecuci. Besides the Cathedral, it houses exotic birds, several fountains and gorgeous roses.
there are free public toilets in Bucharest :) "Neither Romania nor Moldova have free public toliets." not true, dear John :)
there are many public toilets in Bucharest, you'll see them when you'll arrive here.
As for the tax of "un leu", i think it's good even this way, instead of no public toilet, right? :)
hope after the crisis more and more place in Ro to have them :)
enjoy your tour :)
Re: free public toilets John,
The best idea is to use the restrooms in gas stations. The facilities are usually clean (sometimes they even spark!), properly equipped and always free of charge.
I am returning to Romania for the 6th or 7th time. I have a personal affinity for Romania.
Since 2004 I have sent almost 90,000 English language books to schools and libraries in all corners of the country, most of them staffed by Peace Corps workers. Those interested in this program should contact me. Provisions are being made to accept sponsors for teachers or one-time cash donations in the US or Romania. 400 RON / $150 will send about 5 boxes of English language books to an American Peace Corps teacher there. A new batch of teachers is being trained now and will be deployed in September.... full info
JohnUSA
John K.
YEEEEESSSSSS.....
Exactly what I needed to hear. And something I may be able to address in a post-mortem assessment of the trip. I will say that there was a lot of compression of time, as access to a computer was very limited, at best. Thank you all so much for the critiques.